Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Petroglyphs safe as spray paint removed from Tempe's Hayden Butte

[Source: Emma Breysse, ASU Web Devil] -- Tempe residents may be relieved that Native American petroglyphs threatened by an alleged UA prank are safe, but many are annoyed that at least $10,000 of their tax dollars were spent keeping them that way. This week the work to save the glyphs is considered virtually complete, allowing the city to arrive at an estimate of the final price tag. Workers have spent more than a year removing spray paint from "A" Mountain after a prank stemming from a football rivalry.

The evening before the November 2006 football game between ASU and UA, vandals believed to be UA students trespassed on the north side of "A" Mountain and spray-painted a red "A" — endangering ancient Hohokam petroglyphs. Investigation at the time revealed several empty beer bottles, but no suspects — meaning the city of Tempe bore the cost of removing the paint without damaging the glyphs. "We have no evidence of who did it," said Tempe spokeswoman Nikki Ripley. "So the city can't approach anyone [about paying for the project], and no one has approached us."

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Welcome to Arizona Preservation, home to posts and musings from the Arizona Preservation Foundation, Arizona’s only non-profit statewide historic preservation organization. Founded in 1979, the Foundation is dedicated to helping preserve Arizona's historic, archaeological, architectural, and cultural resources. We welcome your questions, comments, and story ideas.